The New Nation - Internet Edition

Russia hit by doping suspensions

BBC Online

Seven Russian athletes have been provisionally suspended for doping offences, the International Association of Athletics Federations has announced.

Five of the seven - Yelena Soboleva, Tatyana Tomashova, Yulia Fomenko, Darya Pishchalnikova and Gulfiya Khanafeyeva - were bound for the Beijing Olympics.

The other two athletes are Svetlana Cherkasova and Olga Yegorova.

Romania have dropped Elena Antoci and Cristina Vasiloiu from their Olympic team because of suspicion of doping.

The pair are both 1,500m runners and they follow in the footsteps of fellow 1,500m competitor Liliana Popescu, who was dropped from the country's Olympic team under similar circumstances earlier this month.

Russian Yegorova was booed on her way to claiming the 5,000m title at the World Championships in Edmonton in 2001.

She had tested positive for EPO but had been reinstated in the event on a technicality concerning the drugs test.

Before the heats for the women's 5,000m Paula Radcliffe and Great Britain team-mate Hayley Tullett held up a sign in the stands reading "EPO cheats out".

Soboleva - the reigning 1500m world indoor champion - is the world leader over 800m and 1,500m this year, while Tomashova was world champion in 2003 and 2005 and claimed silver at the Athens Olympics four years ago.

Fomenko finished second behind Soboleva over 1,500m at the world indoor championships in Valencia earlier this year.

The two field-eventers are also of pedigree, with Pishchalnikova the reigning European discus champion and hammer thrower Khanafeyeva a former world record holder.

The seven have been charged under IAAF rules for a "fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process", according to a statement from the world governing body.

The statement continued: "These rule violations were established following the deliberate storage of samples by the IAAF and re-analysis using comparative DNA techniques."

The IAAF added the suspensions were "the result of a specific investigation which was instigated and carried out by the IAAF for more than a year".

And the statement concluded: "The IAAF will make no further comment until a final decision has been taken by the ARAF (All Russia Athletics Federation), which now takes over the responsibility to adjudicate these cases."

The athletes have up to 14 days to request a hearing with the national member federation.

If a hearing is requested, it must be held within a period of two months.

The Beijing Olympics athletics schedule is set to get under way on Friday, 15 August.

Late wickets give Sri Lanka edge

BBC Online

India's Virender Sehwag hit an unbeaten century, but four late quick wickets gave Sri Lanka a slight edge in the rain-hit first day of the second Test.

Having chosen to bat, India looked set for a commanding total with Sehwag (128 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (56) putting on a 167-run opening stand.

But after a rain break Ajantha Mendis (2-74) and Chaminda Vaas (2-57) struck to reduce India to 214-4 in Galle.

India trail in the three-match series after a heavy defeat in the first Test.

And the visitors started as if they were intent on undoing the wrongs of their innings and 239-run defeat in Colombo.

Sehwag and Gambhir raced to 151-0 at lunch off just 29 overs, with Gambhir, then on 13, offering the only chance of the session when he was dropped by Kumar Sangakkara at first slip.

Three hours were then lost to the rain and when play resumed Sri Lanka seized the initiative.

Sehwag reached his 15th Test century with a glorious six over long-on off Vaas, but Mendis broke the opening partnership by trapping Gambhir lbw.

Gambhir, whose half-century came in 92 deliveries, challenged the dismissal but he was unsuccessful and more wickets soon followed to leave India reeling on 178-4.

Rahul Dravid (2) was caught at silly mid-on by Malinda Warnapura off Mendis, while Vaas claimed the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (5) lbw and then, in the same over, had Sourav Ganguly caught behind for a duck.

VVS Laxman survived an lbw decision as he and Sehwag consolidated the innings with a 36-run partnership before bad light prematurely ended play.

Scoreboard

Scoreboard at stumps on the opening day of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium here on Thursday:

India 1st innings:

G. Gambhir lbw b Mendis 56

V. Sehwag not out 128

R. Dravid c Warnapura b Mendis 2

S. Tendulkar lbw b Vaas 5

S. Ganguly c P. Jayawardene

b Vaas 0

V. Laxman not out 13

Extras (lb4, w6) 10

Total (for four wickets) 214

Fall of wickets: 1-167 (Gambhir), 2-173 (Dravid), 3-178 (Tendulkar), 4-178 (Ganguly)

Bowling: Vaas 14-1-57-2, Kulasekara 8-1-40-0 (w6), Mendis 14-1-74-2, Muralitharan 8.3-0-39-0.

Overs: 44.3

Toss: India

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and

Rudi Koertzen (RSA)

TV umpire: Mark Benson (ENG)

Match referee: Alan Hurst (AUS)

Mizanur clinches bronze in Asian Zurkhanch Wrestling

Sports Reporter

Nayek Md Mizanur Rahman of Bangladesh Rifles clinched the bronze medal in the 90 kg category of wrestling of the Second Asian Zurkhanch Wrestling Championship held at the Kathmandu of Nepal recently.

Asian Zurkhanch Sports Confederation and Nepal National Sports Federation jointly arranged the wrestling meet.

Volleyball training camp from today

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Volleyball Federation will arrange a three-week long residential volleyball training camp from today at the Mirpur Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium to form the National Youth Volleyball team. National Sports Council will give the federation all sorts of cooperation to run the coaching camp smoothly.

President of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation Golam Quddus Chowdhury will formally open the training camp today at 4:00 PM as the chief guest.

A total of 30 participants will take part in the coaching camp. Later, a number of 18 spikers will be selected finally for the camp.

National volleyball coach Shamim Al Mamun will conduct the training camp while Shah Md Jahangir Alam will assist him as the assistant coach.

Table tennis training camp begins today

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation will arrange a month-long training camp from today under auspices of AB Bank Limited at the Dhaka Wooden Floor Gymnasium adjacent to the Paltan Maidan. The under-12 boys and girls will participate in the training camp. Coach of International Table Tennis Federation Arif Khan will supervise the coaching camp with the assistance of Hafizur Rahman, the coach of National Sports Council.

President and Managing Director of AB Bank Limited Kaizar A Chowdhury will inaugurate the camp tomorrow at 4.00 PM as the chief guest.

Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation has selected the players according to the performance of 29th National Table Tennis Championship, which concluded recently.

Pioneer Football: Shwadhinata KS blank Dhaka Eleven

Sports Reporter

Shwadhinata Krira Sangha (KS) blanked Dhaka Eleven Club 8-0 in the day's first match of the Dhaka City Corporation Pioneer Football League at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium on Thursday.

Sohel of Shwadhinata Krira Sangha scored seven goals with a hat-trick while his teammate Shakil netted one.

Meanwhile, Lalbagh Tarun Sangha defeated Golam Mostafa Lane Kishore Sangha by 3-1 goals at the same venue on the same day.

Nizam, Ziko, Amin of Lalbagh scored one goal each while Kayes returned one for the losers.

1st Rugby referee training program begins

UNB, Dhaka

The 1st Rugby referee training program, organised by Bangladesh Rugby Association, began Thursday at the Outer Stadium.

National Sports Council (NSC) secretary Muhammad Akbar Hussain formally inaugurated the two-day program as chief guest.

Rugby Association president Khondaker Jamil Uddin and general secretary Mousum Ali and Bangladesh Sports Writers Association (BSWA) president Sarwar Hossain were present.

A total of 35 trainees are taking part in the program.

South Korea TV crew films top-secret Olympic ceremony

AFP, Beijing

A South Korean TV crew has broadcast the first look at China's top-secret opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, after getting inside for a dress rehearsal and filming it on the sly.

The footage, apparently filmed during a full rehearsal at the National Stadium, was aired on SBS, one of the top three television channels in South Korea, and posted on video website YouTube.

It revealed a strong futuristic theme in part of the show, which is being directed by acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

A moving sea of what looked like white tower blocks, bright lights, and hundreds of men practising martial arts were just some parts of the spectacle.

There was also a huge red globe in the middle of the staidum, as well as hundreds of extras waving red flags, others beating on drums, and multicoloured figures floating through the air.

The 50-minute show has been one of China's most closely guarded secrets about the Games, despite having more than 10,000 performers in a show that has been in the works for three years.

All participants have been sworn to secrecy and little has been disclosed about the actual programme, other than it will portray thousands of years of Chinese history.

Organisers have let it slip that the extravaganza will include fireworks, Chinese opera and a tribute to victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province that killed nearly 70,000 people.

The SBS video was also posted on sina.com, a popular Chinese web portal, but was no longer available for viewing on Wednesday evening.

The show is part of a three-hour opening ceremony that will launch the Games on August 8, including the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic flame.

SBS executives confirmed that the channel had aired a video clip featuring the Olympic rehearsal as part of a sport news show on July 29.

China complained about it, and SBS has since been "cooperating," according to the executives, who refused to be named.

Pakistan's female athlete hopes to uphold Olympic spirit

AFP, Karachi

Pakistan's sole female athlete Sadaf Siddiqui has modest ambitions for the Olympics and says simply competing will be a dream come true as she hopes to inspire millions of girls back home.

Lahore-based Siddiqui runs the 100 and 200 metres but as a wild card entrant she is allowed to compete in only one event and so will be lining up for the 100m heats in Beijing.

The 22-year-old sprinter knows she faces red-hot competition from a star-studded line-up but promises to keep her head high and proud, even if she finishes last.

"I promise that I will not show an embarrassed loser's face, my head will be high and my face would be glowing because the Olympic spirit is to compete irrespective of results. For me it's an honour," the sprinter told AFP.

Siddiqui is one of just two female competitors in Pakistan's 37-member contingent for the Games, with 18-year-old Kiran Khan set to jump in the Olympic pool in the women's swimming.

Pakistan is sending 21 athletes in total and 16 officials, according to the Pakistan Olympic Association.

Siddiqui's best time for the 100m is 11.81 seconds-a Pakistani record she set in April-and 24.36 seconds in the 200m which are both a far cry from top international standards.

But that doesn't bother her.

"I follow international athletics and know there would be world class athletes competing in Beijing but they too are human beings and they may be better but I am one among millions of Pakistani girls who got a chance to compete in the Games," she said.

Pakistani sportswomen have to overcome a lack of facilities and the restrictions of their conservative Islamic nation in their quest for glory.

"We do not have world class facilities and whatever we attain is due to hard work and support from the family. For me former Pakistan athlete Sumera Zahoor was an inspiration but otherwise it's hard to find encouragement," she said.

And so her aunt Fehmida Siddiqui will fly from London to Beijing specially to see her compete in the Olympics, a prospect Sadaf relishes.

"At least there would be one person clapping for me," she said.

Pakistan's conservative society restricts women's participation in sporting events. They are usually barred from competing before men spectators and are only allowed to play in Islamic dress of long shirts and trousers.

It was only after the International Olympic Committee made it mandatory for member countries to send at least one female athlete that Pakistan started sending women to the Summer Games.

Shabana Akhtar became the first woman athlete to represent Pakistan at Olympic level when she competed at Atlanta in the 1996 Games.

Shazia Hidayat took part in the Sydney Olympics four years later while Zahoor represented Pakistan at the last Athens Games.

For Siddiqui Beijing will be a paradise if she qualifies for the second stage.

"If I qualify for the first race I will feel like in heaven, if not it still would be a dream come true."

Academy faces national cricketers in a practice match today

UNB, Dhaka

The GP-BCB National Cricket Academy team, which will leave here for South Africa on August 4 on a short tour, faces the national cricketers in a practice match at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS).

Mohammad Ashraful will lead the national cricketers and Suhrawardy Shuvo the Academy side in the 40-overs per side match that will begin at 10:00 am.

The 14-member Academy team, announced on Wednesday, will open their tour with a four-day match against South Africa Academy team on August 8 at Tukkies 1 in Pretoria. The 2nd four-day match between the two sides will be held August 14-18 at Laudiam, Pretoria.

The three one-day matches between the two Academy teams are slated for August 20 (Dobsonville, Johannesburg), August 22 (Tukkies, Pretoria) and August 24 (Lenasia, Johannesburg).

The Academy team will return home on August 25.

Academy Squad: Suhrawardy Shuvo (captain), Sahagir Hossain Pavel (vice captain), Farhad Hossain, Shamsur Rahman, Marshall Ayub, Nadif Chowdhury, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Raihan Uddin, Mahbubul Alam, Shafaq al Zabir, Ziaur Rahman and Delwar Hossain.

Standbys: Arafat Sunny, Mahbub ul Karim, Ashiqul Islam, Nabil Samad and Arafat Salahuddin.

Dhaka Wanderers, Bangladesh Navy brighten chance to reach final round

UNB, Dhaka

Dhaka Wanderers Club and Bangladesh Navy came close to reaching the final round of the Citycell Federation Cup Football Tournament winning their respective Group B matches on Thursday.

Dhaka Wanderers almost assured their final round berth from the group beating formidable Victoria SC by 2-0 goals at the Gazipur Stadium in the afternoon.

Saidul put Dhaka Wanderers ahead early in the 3rd minute, while Idris Modarib confirmed the victory scoring the other goal in the 40th minute.

Dhaka Wanderers, which dominates Group B with unbeaten run having four points from two matches, needs just a draw against all-losers Bangladesh Air Force in their remaining group match on Friday.

In the day's other match, Bangladesh Navy earned an exciting 1-0 goal victory over another Services team Bangladesh Air Force at the Banani Army Stadium.

Sekon scored the match-winner for the sailors' team in the 79th minute.

With the day's feat, Bangladesh Navy also collected four points from two matches and needs a draw against strong Victoria SC (3 points) in the last group match on Saturday in their bid for a final round berth.

Friday's matches: Bangladesh Police vs Diganta Prasari, Rajshahi (Army Stadium 4pm), Dhaka Wanderers Club vs Bangladesh Air Force (Gazipur Stadium 4pm).

Two Moroccan booters sign for Sheikh Russell KC

UNB, Dhaka

Two Moroccan booters -- midfielder Saide Zanzoun and striker Youness -- Thursday signed for Sheik Russell KC to play in the Citycell Federation Cup Football and upcoming 2nd B. League.

The 30-year-old Zanzoun signed for the 1st time for any local club in Bangladesh, but played profession league in Oman, Sudan and UAE, while Youness has been playing for Sheikh Russell KC since 2005.

Another Moroccan stopper Bourdif Mohammad, who played for Sheikh Russell KC last session, will join the team on Aug 3, club sources said.